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Video: Gleison Tibau vs. Michael Johnson From UFC 168 (Full Fight)

Ahead of his battle against fellow highly-regarded UFC Lightweight contender Dustin Poirier in the main event of this Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 94 event, Michael Johnson is featured in the latest “Free Fight” released by the UFC on Monday.

Feat…

Featured below is the complete Gleison Tibau vs. Michael Johnson fight from the UFC 168 pay-per-view, which took place in December of 2013 and saw Johnson score a second-round knockout victory.

Johnson takes on Dustin Poirier in the main event of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night 94 event, which goes down live from State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, and airs live on FOX Sports 1.

Not That You Care, But Wanderlei Silva Was Just Hit With a Three Year Suspension

(“You say Vitor Belfort got accepted at Stanford? GET ME YALE ON THE LINE, ASAP.”)

It doesn’t really matter all that much, because Wanderlei Silva has spent the past three years in exile from the sport (and, oh yeah, retired from it over 2 years ago), but the former Pride and UFC star’s long legal battle with the Nevada State Athletic Commission has finally come to an end. His sentence? THREE MORE YEARS OF IRRELEVANCY.

Sort of.

Details after the jump.

The post Not That You Care, But Wanderlei Silva Was Just Hit With a Three Year Suspension appeared first on Cagepotato.

(“You say Vitor Belfort got accepted at Stanford? GET ME YALE ON THE LINE, ASAP.”)

Sort of.

Details after the jump.

Yes, after initially being handed a lifetime ban by the commission for skipping out on a drug test prior to his UFC 175 bout with Chael Sonnen — a ruling that was later overturned by a Nevada District Court judge — Silva appeared before the NSAC earlier today to challenge the suspension. According to those present, Silva’s attorney, Saul Goodman, used the opportunity to lay into NSAC head Bob Bennett with a line of questioning that was deemed ”insulting” by the board. After some brief debate, Silva was hit with a three year suspension retroactive to May of 2014, meaning he will be free to compete in May of 2017. The $70,000 fine he received was also rescinded due to the fact that oh who gives a f*ck.

One can only imagine the pro wrestling-style shoot promo that awaits us any minute now.

Speaking of drug test-related suspensions, you might recall that Gleison Tibau was hit a USADA notice of his own back in December, after flunking an out-of-competition drug test on the heels of his submission win over Abel Trujillo at Fight Night 77 (I know, contain your surprise). At first, it looked like the long-standing member of the lightweight division would be appealing, but just as quickly, Tibau pulled a rare move in MMA these days and publicly apologized for failing the test. Even crazier, he honest-to-God admitted to using EPO and subsequently ended his appeal, telling MMAFighting:

It’s going to be it. They asked me if I wanted to appeal, but it was too tiresome. Three months of meetings at the court, that’s tiring. I don’t want to appeal anymore. I’m done. I expected it to be easier, but that demands a lot from you mentally, physically and financially. If I wanted to continue the appeal, I would have to pay all the court costs from now on, I would have to pay my lawyer, and the suspension would probably go down only three or six months, I don’t know, so I decided not to appeal.

As such, Tibau will now be suspended from the sport for the minimum two years, as per the new UFC/USADA guidelines. For what it’s worth, he seems generally remorseful for what he’s done.

“I’m upset,” continued Tibau. “I have to apologize to my fans because it was a medical mistake. We used a substance we thought wouldn’t be anything, we used it out of competition. I have my conscience clear that I took it without imagining I was doing something wrong. It’s going to be hard for me, but I will pay the price for my mistake.”

Well at least his conscience is clear. I don’t know if I’d be able to live with the idea of a cheater who nearly strangled his last opponent to death having a case of the sads.

The post Not That You Care, But Wanderlei Silva Was Just Hit With a Three Year Suspension appeared first on Cagepotato.

UFC 184: Tony Ferguson Looks for Biggest Win to Date over Gleison Tibau

Lightweight contender Tony Ferguson puts his four-fight winning streak on the line against veteran Gleison Tibau at UFC 184.
“El Cucuy”, which means “The Boogeyman,” has finished the likes of Abel Trujillo and Katsunori Kikuno in that span. His o…

Lightweight contender Tony Ferguson puts his four-fight winning streak on the line against veteran Gleison Tibau at UFC 184.

“El Cucuy“, which means “The Boogeyman,” has finished the likes of Abel Trujillo and Katsunori Kikuno in that span. His opponent, Tibau, has gone 5-1 in his last six outings, with all five wins coming by decision.

Ferguson isn’t currently a ranked lightweight, but that may soon change. The 31-year-old is as confident as he has ever been and plans on beating the Brazilian bruiser at his own game. He told MMAjunkie’s Steven Marrocco:

If he just wants to sit there and lay on me like Danny Castillo did, he can try to play the judges, but it’s just not going to work, man. He’s going to have a barrage of knees, punches, kicks and elbows coming at his face, and with an unlimited supply of conditioning. That’s one of his downfalls right there.

The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 winner is willing to take risks that other fighters aren’t, as touched on by Marrocco. Ferguson is light on his feet and is prepared for all situations.

Come February 28 at the Staples Center, the former NCAA All-American wrestler from Grand Valley State may surprise the big brute Tibau.

Tibau has been known to weigh over 185 pounds on fight night. Ferguson has trained with similarly sculpted wrestlers in his collegiate days and fought multiple weight classes higher than his natural fit at one time.

“I used to wrestle at 184 pounds. I bumped up two weight classes, and I was wrestling guys who were 210 pounds, no problem, and I’m barely making 174,” said Ferguson.

The extra weight Tibau carries is what Ferguson thinks will be the deciding factor in their meeting.

Tibau won’t wow you with his speed, but his cardio is deceptive. The Florida-based fighter has won 16 fights via decision in his 15-year mixed martial arts career.

He’s durable and has only been finished twice in his lengthy UFC career, including a December 2013 second-round TKO loss to Michael Johnson.

Ferguson appears to have done his homework.

“(Johnson) kept on his feet, kept his shots really light, and he took out Gleison Tibau,” he said. “When I go in and watch film, I look at these guys’ mistakes, and I want to make sure I capitalize on them.”

Though his striking has considerably improved over the last eight years, Tibau‘s hands remain one of his weaknesses. Over the course of his last three fights, he has been outstruck 112:149, per FightMetric.

Ferguson is not a high-volume striker, but he picks his shots. The Boogeyman‘s most recent knockout came against the Japanese karate specialist Kikuno.

The California native teed off on Kikuno with endless jabs and crosses. Ferguson’s entire MMA repertoire was on display.

He tossed the Judo black belt to the ground with ease and nearly ended the fight twice with submissions.

Putting Tibau on his back will be much harder. The Brazilian boasts some of the best takedown defense in the entire UFC. He defends them at a 93 percent clip.

The winner of this meeting is potentially looking at a berth into the Top 15 of the lightweight division. For Tibau, his journey to lightweight prominence has lasted close to a decade.

One look at the Brazilian’s tour of duty and it becomes increasingly clear: He has fought the 155-pound division’s toughest men.

Tibau‘s career has transcended eras—he has been in the cage with everyone from Joe Stevenson and Melvin Guillard, to Rafael dos Anjos and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The 31-year-old Tibau came up short in his fight against Nurmagomedov—or “The Eagle”—but it was much closer than the scorecards indicated. Tibau stuffed all 13 of the Russian’s takedown attempts and was the more accurate striker of the two.

Ferguson’s best chance to win will be on the feet when he can utilize his speed advantage. He will also want to make use of the five-inch reach advantage he possesses.

His ability to slide in and out of harm’s way will prove pivotal against Tibau.

The Brazilian, however, has fared well against foes he was counted out against and is becoming more refined with age.

Expect a close contest on Saturday night, with The Boogeyman gutting it out for the “W.”

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

The Time Is Now for UFC Lightweights Gleison Tibau and Jorge Masvidal

Lost in all the raucous at UFC Fight Night: Boston was an entertaining win by a veteran lightweight contender. The victory, over a heralded Irishman, adds another feather to the cap of this scrappy 155-pounder.
I’m not talking about Donald “Cowbo…

I’m not talking about Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone but Brazil’s Gleison Tibau. The 31-year-old behemoth of a lightweight utilized an efficient mixture of boxing and his trademark wrestling, to earn his 11th career decision—he’s now third on the list for most UFC victories of All-Time with 16—in the UFC over Stormin‘ Norman Parke. Tibau‘s victory over the former Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes winner was his fifth in his last six opportunities, proof that he may finally be hitting his stride.

Parke, a formerly undefeated prospect in the 155-pound division and native of Northern Ireland, was fighting in front of a pro-Irish crowd that already saw one controversial decision occur just one fight prior. The Brazilian was expected to be his toughest test and it showed on Sunday night.

The southpaw Tibau was able to slow the ever-active Parke with a steady dose of straight lefts for a good portion of the fight and mixed it up with two takedowns. His takedown defense is some of the best in the business and it helped stifle the takedown attempts of the Judo black belt Parke.

Wrestling, as it has always been, is one of Tibau‘s biggest strengths, which put him over the top in this very close fight that sent the Irishman shipping out of Boston. Both Parke and Tibau landed nearly an identical amount of strikes through 15 minutes.

MMA media outlets were in agreement with the judge’s scorecards on this night of questionable calls. Neither fighter’s stock wavers up or down all that much but Tibau will likely draw an upgrade in opponent; someone that falls between the top 10-15 of the division.

Pairings with Nate Diaz or the winner of the Rustam Khabilov/Adriano Martins meeting seem worthy. Each of these men have experience against the top of the 155-pound food chain and possess challenges for Tibau on the feet and on the ground.

Another teammate, and fellow lightweight, Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal has already began his ascension up the lightweight ladder. The 30-year-old Strikeforce veteran has produced a 5-1 record inside the Octagon and has run through opposition like Pat Healy and Daron Cruickshank with ease.

Masvidal has built a strong reputation as a fearsome striker. He has fought top competition throughout the buildup to his eventual UFC run, including a 155-pound title fight with former Strikeforce champ, and current top-5 UFC lightweight, Gilbert Melendez.

Gamebred is also an underrated grappler and slapped this D’arce choke on Michael Chiesa back in July 2013.

The No. 13-ranked Masvidal has a tilt with the No. 9-ranked Bobby Green on tap at UFC Fight Night 63 in April. Green, who’s coming off of a tough decision loss to Edson Barboza, is skilled at making fighters miss and is well-suited to deal with anything Masvidal will throw at him.

Both Masvidal and Tibau have been on the outside looking in of the lightweight division for much of their career’s; albeit Masvidal reaching the pinnacle in Strikeforce. One more win for either of these men will change their career.

Masvidal might be the quicker fighter but Tibau is as equally talented, if not more, as Gamebred. Both are content with cruising to decision victories and are dominant in their strong suits of wrestling and striking.

Let us also not forget that Tibau gave the No. 2-ranked Khabib Nurmagomedov his most stiff test yet and also defeated current No. 1 contender Rafael dos Anjos.

What we’ve seen from Tibau during this stretch, which began in May 2013, is his total game rounding into form. He now has the confidence to stand and trade with most fighters. Before, Tibau had relied far too much on his wrestling against fighters such as Joe Lauzon and Jim Miller.

The success that Tibau and Masvidal have had in the last two years has largely gone unnoticed due to the high level of success achieved by ATT members Robbie Lawler, Hector Lombard and Tyron Woodley. In 2015, the time is now for up-and-coming lightweights.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 59: McGregor vs. Siver — Live Results & Commentary

(Mouth like Chael, ass like Arianny. / Props: Getty)

Conor McGregor vs. Dennis Siver isn’t so much a “fight” as it is a blatant showcase for an exciting young talent, against an opponent who’s about as hand-picked as they come. If all goes according to plan tonight in Boston, McGregor will score a dominant win and earn a title shot against Jose Aldo in a soccer stadium. If Siver wins…who knows? I mean, I’ll laugh my ass off, but beyond that? Hard to say.

Luckily, tonight’s co-main event should be far more competitive. Will Donald Cerrone finally “go get some!” against Benson Henderson, the former WEC/UFC champion who has beaten him twice before? Or will they just hug and stuff?

Our man Alex Giardini will be providing round-by-round UFC Fight Night 59 results from the FOX Sports 1 main card, after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and hit us up on twitter to share your own thoughts.

(Mouth like Chael, ass like Arianny. / Props: Getty)

UFC Fight Night 59 Preliminary Card Results
Cathal Pendred def. Sean Spencer via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27×2)
Lorenz Larkin def. John Howard via TKO (strikes) at 2:17 of R1
Chris Wade def. Zhang Lipeng via unanimous decision (30-26 x3)
Patrick Holohan def. Shane Howell via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Johnny Case def. Frankie Perez via TKO (strikes) at 1:54 of R3
Charles Rosa def. Sean Soriano via submission (D’arce choke) at 4:43 of R3
Sean O’Connell def. Matt Van Buren via TKO (strikes) at 2:11 of R3
Joby Sanchez def. Tateki Matsuda via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)

Alright, Potato Nation … just had to go puke because of that Carl Pendred-Sean Spencer decision, but we’re pretty psyched about the “Irish Muhammad Ali” vs. the “German Barry Horowitz.” Stay for a while, and let’s do the damn thing.

Holy Christ, we’re getting a McGregor hype video before the first fight. The fight was also proclaimed as the “biggest featherweight fight in history.”

Norman Parke vs. Gleison Tibau

Round 1: Both lightweights out in southpaw stance. Parke throwing a lot of flashy kicks, and goes for the lockup. Gleison shakes him off, and tries to find his range. Tibau misses with a left, and takes a kick to the body. Parke not really aiming for the head, and goes to the body instead. Low kicks from Parke, while Tibau lands a stiff jab. Tibau goes for some spinning shit, but doesn’t follow through in the end. Left hand lands for Tibau, backing up Parke. Not much action from both guys, with Parke still focusing on his kicking game. Takedown attempt from Parke is stuffed. Tibau lands a solid right hand. Parke working some combinations now, as both men lock up in the center of the Octagon. Parke stuffs a takedown from Tibau, and the horn sounds.

Round 2: Spinning back kick attempt from Parke, and then tries some sort of dropkick, but Tibau storms him and forces Parke across the cage. Parke maintains composure, and they’re back trading in the center. Parke moving forward, pressuring Tibau closer to the fence. Left hand lands for Tibau, while taking a couple of leg kicks. Another left punch from Tibau, and he’s locked up, looking for the takedown. Parke’s takedown defense is impressive, but gets taken down a few seconds after exchanging blows. Parke gets back to his feet immediately, looking for a takedown of his own. Tibau reverses positioning, and we’re deep into the dirty boxing game. Mike Goldberg reiterating that fans don’t understand how grueling the clinch game could be, as if we don’t hear it every single time it happens.

Round 3: Boston fans chanting, because they’re obviously bored. A quicker pace from both guys to open the third, as Parke shoots low for a takedown with Gleison’s back to the fence. Tibau breaks free, but Parke is still driving forward. Tibau’s striking is extremely technical, and gets a double stuffed. Good straight rights from Tibau, while Parke nails him with a left hook. Parke is definitely the wilder striker, yet Tibau seems to be packing more power behind his punches. Parke keeping busy with jabs, while Tibau trying to find an opening. Tibau missing most of his shots, steering away from his foe’s punches. Guillotine attempt from Tibau, but he lets it go. Good movement from Parke, who lands a number of jabs after a hard kick to the body. Tibau looking to lock up again, and Parke shakes him off. Good combinations from Parke, and as he starts to find his range, Tibau takes him down and looks to take his back. Parke shakes him off, and moves Tibau to the cage while the horn sounds seconds later. Awkward fight, and kind of boring to say the least.

Fight Night 59: Gleison Tibau out to Expose Norman Parke

The UFC’s lightweight division is arguably the most stacked collection of combatants under the promotion’s banner, and there is no fighter in that group with more Octagon experience than Gleison Tibau.
The Brazilian powerhouse has competed under …

The Brazilian powerhouse has competed under the UFC banner for the better part of a decade, and along the way, he has made 23 appearances inside the cage. While there have been winning streaks and setbacks alike, the American Top Team product has remained a staple in the 155-pound fold while plenty of other fighters have come and gone.

Nevertheless, Tibau has seemingly found his groove as of late and has been steadily climbing up the rankings of the lightweight division. The 31-year-old Florida transplant has broken out of his “get one, give one” rut and has made substantial progress toward a top-10 spot over the past year, as he’s won four of his five showings inside the Octagon—with his two most recent outings both resulting in victories.

He will be looking to keep that momentum rolling when he squares off with highly touted scrapper Norman Parke at Fight Night 59 this Sunday night in Boston.

The Northern Ireland representative has proved to be a talented upstart in the lightweight ranks, and Tibau has every intention of derailing Parke’s progress when the cage door closes on Sunday.

“I believe my experience inside the Octagon is going to play a huge factor in this fight when we go into deep waters,” Tibau told Bleacher Report with the assistance of a translator. “I’ve been there many times and I’m going to force him to make a mistake, then I’m going to capitalize on it and apply a submission or get the knockout.

“Everyone keeps talking about his ground game and his jiu-jitsu game. But guess what? He’s never faced anyone in his entire career at my level of skill on the ground. I feel it’s great that Parke feels confident on the ground. Thank God. Let’s go ahead and go to the ground in this fight and find out who is the better grappler. He’s going to have a rude awakening when he goes to the ground with me.”

While Tibau‘s immediate focus is locked on handing Parke his first defeat in nearly five years, his larger goal is to finally break through into title contention. It has been a long road for the stocky Brazilian, one where finding consistent success has been difficult to come by.

That said, Tibau believes the changes he’s made in camp and the adjustments he’s implemented in his game will allow him to battle his way to the upper tier of a division that continues to grow more competitive year by year.

Tibau wants to run the proverbial table in 2015, and the first step in that plan lies in his ability to defeat Parke at Fight Night 59.

“After my last loss, we changed a few things in our camp and in training,” Tibau said. “We tried to correct mistakes and figure out why we were inconsistent. We tried to figure out why we would win two fights, then lose one and continue to stay in that trend. We tried to minimize as much as we could to address these problems.

“We changed the diet a little bit because that’s a huge part of my camp. My weight loss is easier now and I’m more focused than I’ve ever been before. It is my goal to go through 2015 undefeated.

“I have the most fights and the most wins in the lightweight division. I’m the third-most active fighter in UFC history, but what is missing in all of that is consistency. I win two and lose one, but I’m going to change that in 2015. It is my goal to finish this year undefeated with a good run against tough opponents. When I do that, I will be very close to a top-five ranking or possibly get a title shot by the end of the year.”

Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com